Spring-wheel.



P. G. RAPP & P. H. KING.

SPRING WHEEL.

APPLICATION TILED MAY 15, 1911. i 1,040,755.. Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 1.

Peter G. pp lgeeijiij/g mmlnrozs P. G. RAPP L P. H. KING.

SPRING WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I5, 1911.

Patented 001'.. 8, 1912.

ltoznctj @Witwen/.wo IEE j) l 7V "Ui TE PETER G.'.`B,APP A ND PETER H. KING, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPRING-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

Application led May 15,E 1911. Serial No. 627,258.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that. we, PETER G. RAPP and PETER H. KING, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Spring-Wheel, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in spring wheels.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of spring wheels, and to provide a sim le, practical and etiicient spring wheel o comparatively inexpensive construction, designed for use on motor and other vehicles as a substitute for pneumatic tires, and capable of affording the desired resiliency.

A further object of the invention is to provide a noiseless Wheel of this character equipped with means, adapted to permit free play of the springs within safe limits, and capable of relieving the springs of the various strains to which a wheel of a motor vehicle is subjected, whereby injury to the springs is prevented.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and .novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and ointed out' in the claims hereto appende it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit or sacricing any of the advantages of the invention. i

In t-he drawings :-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a spring wheel, constructed in accordance with this invention, a portion of the side plates being broken away to illustrate the arrangement of the cushioning springs and the co-acting blocks. Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the wheel. Fig. 3 1s a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 4 --4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the blocks.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings. l

In the accompanying drawinvs 1n which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the spring wheel comprises in its construction an inner wheel consisting of a hub 1, wooden spokes 2 and a wooden fclly 3, which supports the inn'ermetallic band 4, secured to the Wooden felly by bolts 5, plercing the fell and the inner metallic band, as clearly i lust/rated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The inner wheel may be of any preferred construction, as the improvements are applicable to various kinds of motor and other vehicle wheels. The felly and the inner metallic bands constitute an inner rim, which supports an annular series of approximately elliptic springs 6, consisting of inner and outer bowed spring members 7 and 8, secured together at their ends. The inner and outer members of the elliptic springs may consist of one or more leaves to provide springs of the proper strength to suit the character of wheel in which they are employed, and they are adapted to cushion a solid rubber tire 9, which ismounted on an outer metallic band or member 10, spaced from and arranged in parallelism with the inner metallic band or member 4. Ihe sprin s are secured to the outer and inner metal ic bands by co-acting male and female blocks 11 and 12, having longitudinal rooves 13 and 14 to receive the outer and inner members of the springs, and provided with rojecting end lugs or flanges 15 and 16, w ich are -secured by bolts 17 and 18 to t-he outer and inner metallic bands. The bolts 17 and 18 are arranged in pairs and are spaced apart to avoid perforating and Weakening the inner and outer members of the springs, and they pierce the lugs of flanges and the inner and outer metallic bands.

Metallic plates 19 are preferably interposed between the male blocks and the outer band 10, the outer members 8 of the springs being interposed between 'the outer blocks l1 and the said plates 19, which are pierced by the bolts 17. The grooves 13 and 14 taper in depth from the ends to the center, the bottom walls of the grooves being curved longitudinally and arranged to clamp the inner and outer members'of the springs at the central portions of the blocks, whereby the said inner and outer members are `curely held against the inner metallic band and the outer plates without interfering with their free resilient action. The end portions of the grooves, which are of greater depth than the thickness of the springs, permit the inner and outer members thereof to spring inwardly and outwardly. The body 120 ing circumferential being suiicientto permit the springs to move;

freely within safe limits. rlhe blocks, however, are arranged to engage With'each other' i to prevent any undue compression or circumferentialdistortion of the springs and the inclined orangularly disposed faces of the tapered blocks and the tapered recesses are adapted to slide on each other in correctdistortion, and are adapted Athrough such sliding movement to 'move the blocks toward a relative central position. This construction adapts the wheel,

particularly for use on motor vehicles, as

the springs will not be injured by the appli.

cation of the propelling power to the center of the wheel. i

The outer metallic band is provided at its outer :tace with transverse ribs 21, which fit in transverse grooves 22 in the inner periphery of the solid rubberv tire 9, whereby the latter is prevented from creeping on the outer band. The ribs may be formed ntegral with the outer band, or they :may be secured to the same by rivets 23, or other 1' pair tapered to fit said notch andextending suitable fastening means.

The elastic tire is maintained inhp-rope-rv position over the springs by means-oit metallic side plates located at opposite' 40 sides of the wheel and loosely embracing the4 elly 34 and rigidly connected with the outer4 band l0 by transverse bolts 25, or other suitj -able fastening devices, which pierce the. plates and pass through transverse openings The side plates 26 in the male blocks 11.

-are spaced apart by transverse tubes 27, rigidly connected with one of the side plates and extending across the space between the 'same and the other side plate and receiving transverse bolts 28, which serve to connectl the inner portions of the plates. 'llhe side plates, which also serve to rotect the springs from dust and dirt and rom the weather, are equipped at their outer portions'with rings 29, located at the outer pontions of the side plates at opposite sides of the tire,

and adapted to increase the width of theI Wheel adjacent to the tread ol 'the tire, so that the wheel will present a broader tread in passing over soft sandy or muddy roadsl and also having an appearance as to-size similar to that of a wheel equippedwith a pnuematic tire. The rings 29, which are approximately ysemi-circular in cross section, t5 present outer curved itacesand have Hat in- Loaoaa ner facesl to t the side plates, and they may be constructed of any suitable material, such as wood or metal, and be secured to the side plates in any preferred manner.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is zl. A wheel of the class described including spaced inner and outer annular members, approximately semi-elliptic springs interposed between the said members, and opposite coacting blocks arranged in pairs within the springs vmidway of the ends thereof, said blocks being secured to the annular members at each end and having oppositely tapered longitudinal grooves extending from one end of the blocks to the other end and receiving the springs, the latter being clamped to the annular members by the said blocks, one of the blocks of each air hav- '85 ing a., tapered recess and the other eing"ta, pered to lit the recess and normally extend-'- ing into the same in overlapped relation but also in spaced relation to the walls of the f' recess to limit radial compression of the springs and tov correct circumferential distortion.l

2. A wheel of the class described including an inner rim, an outer tire, compression springs interposed between the rim and tire, co'acting blocks pppositely arranged inpairs between the rim and tire, one block of each pair having formed in its face a notch with tapering walls, said notch extending transversely of the wheel,l the other block of each into the same but in spacedrelation to the wall thereof to limit radial compression of the springs and circumferential relative movement of the rim and tire, and -rigid side plates secured to the tire and overlapping the rim to prevent lateral relative movement of the rim and tire.

clined portions spaced apart and arranged 12b to limit the transverse compression and longitudinal distortion of the springs.

4. A wheel of 'the class described including inner and outer metallic bands spaced apart and having relative movement, ap- '125 proximately elliptic springs interposed between the bands, co-acting male and female blocks arranged in pairs within the springs and secured to the bands and clamping the springs in place and provided adjacent 'to 130 the same with longitudinal grooves receiving the springs and permitting free resilient action of the same, the female blocks being provided with tapered recesses and the male blocks being tapered to fit the recesses and normally extending into but spaced from the Walls thereof, and plates interposed between the male blocks and the outer band and adapted to fit against the springs.

5. A wheel of the class described including inner and outer annular members spaced apart and having relative movement, approximately elliptic springs interposed between the members, (zo-acting blocks arranged Within the springs and connected with the members and clamping the springs in place without interfering with their free resilient action and having portions normally intel-locked but spaced from and arranged to engage each other to limit the movement of the said members, a tire supported by the outer annular member, and unyelding annular side plates connected with the outer member and loosely embracing the inner annular member and holding the said arts against lateral movement.

6. A W eel of the class described including inner and outer annular members spaced apart and having relative movement, ap proximately elliptic springs interposed between the members, co-acting blocks arranged within the springs and connected with the members and having portions arranged to engage each other to limit the movement of the said members, a tire sup ported by the outer annular member,'side plates arranged at opposite sides of the inner and outer members, and fastening devices piercing the side plates and the blocks, which are connected with the outer member.

7. A Wheel of the class described including inner and outer relatively movable annular members spaced apart, springs interposed between the said members, co-acting inner and outer blocks connected with the inner and outer members and arranged to engage each other to limit the movement of the same, side plates arranged at opposite sides of the inner and outer members and connected with the outer blocks by the fastening devices piercing the outer member, one of the side plates being also provided with transverse spacing tubes tting against the other side plat/es, and fastening devices extending through the tubes and connecting the side plates.

In testimony, that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto atixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

PETER G. RAPP. PETER H. KING. Witnesses:

FRANK H. LENNARDS, JOSEPH S. LA BUY. 

